Each Rose Has a Thorne
by LilBlackBird
Summary: For all of those who read "Thorne", I'm redoing it! For those who didn't: Raven has crossed over to the dark side. A painful moment causes everything in her to break, and she simply can't handle the pain. It changes her in ways unimaginable. Can the Titans get her back? Or will she forever be Thorne, the one villain they can't defeat? BBRae, mainly, with bits of CyBee and RobStar.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. So I decided to rewrite my stories in order to get back into the fanfic-writing groove. My laptop is back in order, and I'm super excited. So sorry about the long waits. Please don't hate me. I really am sorry guys. I love all of my faithful readers. This is for you.**

 **ANYWHOSEN (years away and I still love that word), ON WITH THE STORY!**

Raven had a secret. A big secret. Kind of like the granddaddy-of-all-secrets secret. She had fallen in love. Not with just anyone, either. She had fallen in love with a friend, a teammate. She had fallen in love with Beastboy. How was that even possible, right? Well, after years of missions together and cheesy jokes and teasing smiles, she had realized that she had begun to love the antics of the boy, who was now a man. Nearing his seventeenth birthday, he was no longer much of a boy, and yet he didn't change his name, Mainly because, despite his enhanced looks, he didn't act much differently. He still loved video games and pranks, still had all-night movie marathons. He had matured and stayed the same all at once, and Raven had fallen madly in love with him.

Today was the day she decided to tell him. Ever since the brotherhood had gone down, crime rates had gone down drastically. It seemed that they had been in charge of a bit more than just the big guys, but also ran petty crime circles like bank robberies to fund their evil escapades. But the world was finally calming down around them, Robin and Starfire had finally paired off in Japan, and everyone knew that Bumblebee and Cyborg were getting close to an admission. It was only logical to her that Raven do the same.

Confident in her decision, she slid the door to her room open and floated her way into the common area, trying to force herself to the ground. Her excitement and anticipation weren't going to allow that. The joy that wrapped around her made her feel like Starfire, elated and loving and purely pleasant. She could feel Beastboy's presence strongly just on the other side of the common room's sliding doors, and made herself push through them before she could lose her nerve. Her internal radar picked up on something else as well, but she was much to anticipatory to consider what or who it could be. She simply stepped into the room, catching sight of Beastboy lifting someone into the air and spinning them, their long blonde hair flying wildly. He placed the giggling person on her feet and smiled widely, his eyes glinting with joyous tears. It took Raven only a moment to place the girl's body movements, the familiar cock of her hip and swish of her hair.

"Terra," Raven said, surprise clouding her excitement. "You're-"

"Back?" supplied Beastboy, the smile still firmly on his lips. The word Raven was actually looking for was "interrupting", but she couldn't say that. It was rude.

"I know. I kept having dreams of rocks, and a strike of lightning that broke... everything. But then last week, I got kicked in the head by a horse. The memories have been slowly making their way back ever since." She was glowing just as brightly as Beastboy.

"That's just... that's fantastic," Raven mumbled. She tried to hold back the sarcasm, but she needn't have bothered. The two were much too busy gazing at each other in pure merriment to notice her. She simply turned on a heel and stalked out of the room, trying to hold back the flood of emotions.

The weeks passed, and while everything got better for the rest of the team, it only got worse for Raven. Terra and Beastboy seemed to be regaining the relationship the had lost all that time ago, which was only breaking Raven. The closer they got, the more she felt like she was shattering, the pieces of her breaking off in all directions. She was moody and bitter almost always, and had resorted to spending even more time in her room, not even coming out for movie night or her weekly trip to "the mall of shopping" with Starfire. She only ever came out for meals, which she purposely took at different times than everyone else.

It was one of those mealtimes, for her anyways, when it happened. She was walking to the little kitchen they had at six in the morning to make herself some tea and possibly a bagel before anyone else was up. Half asleep, her inner sensor wasn't working that well and she didn't hear the odd noises until it was too late. It wasn't until she had stepped into the dark kitchen that she realized, and by then it was too late. Her half-demon eyes had already adjusted to the lighting and she saw them with no trouble. Terra, still running on her old high school schedule, standing in the kitchen in one of Beastboy's too-big shirts with a piece of toast unattended next to her, because her attention was elsewhere.

Her attention was on the person before her, the person whose waist she was straddling from her place seated on the counter, her hands buried in his green hair as he kissed her. Silently, Raven backed out of the room, trying to control the hot, angry tears flowing down her cheeks. She fled, sprinting all the way the her room without pause. The final pieces of her soul seem to have splintered and separated, stabbing at her insides like shard of ice. In her room, she was glad for the soundproof walls*, because she let out an ear-splitting wail that would have woken everyone within a five mile radius. Things in her room shattered and broke, books and artifacts went soaring. She flew into a blind, boundless fit of rage and pain, screaming and crying and destroying anything she could get her hands on. She even broke her mirror, her portal into her rampaging emotions, without a second thought. There was nothing left for her here, nothing left _of_ her. What was she here for? She wasn't herself, was nothing but an empty shell of a girl who used to live in her body. The pieces of her stabbed at her broken heart like thorns, but she was numb to the pain. Without a second thought about the place she had called home for so long, she disappeared in a hazy cloud of black smoke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! So, I actually have to re-read** ** _Thorne_** **to be able to write these and... wow. Twelve year old admin was an awful writer. As in painful, I-want-to-stab-my-eyeballs-out horrible. But I'm quite a bit older now, and I intend to do this the** ** _write_** **way (yes, I am aware of the incorrect spelling. It's a pun, grammar nazis.). Please enjoy the much better version of a three year old story.**

 **Also, the "*" in the previous chapter was supposed to be a note, but I completely forgot, so here it is:**

 ***The sound proof walls idea was given to me by Xaphrin, an absolutely amazing author. This particular person makes me want to be better.**

 **Anywhosen, ON WITH THE STORY. (there are somethings that are just tradition, guys. get over it.)**

* * *

Raven had no idea where, or when, her vanishing had taken her. Every time she landed in a new place, she disappeared again. She needed to get further away. Every time she materialized in the real world, the pain hit her full-force again. The shadows was where she found her comfort, and the more she traveled, the more they began to seep into her bones, becoming part of her, darkening the very core of who she was. The demon and darkness she held was moving outward, taking over. Her indigo hair grew a few inches and slipped into the same black as the shadows, the red light of her eyes becoming a soul-swallowing black. Her normal leotard lengthened into a skintight black catsuit, and her cape shook into a color darker than midnight on a moonless night.

She wailed in agony as everything in her body shifted and changed to accommodate for the new person she was becoming. She could barely feel herself anymore. She couldn't feel the usual emotions she suppressed, could only feel a boiling rage and festering pain. She felt jealousy, and hatred. She had a sharp need for revenge, and she wanted to see Terra's blood run out of her eyes and mouth. She wanted her dead.

She knew she wasn't who she had been, wasn't the girl who took disappointment and pain in stride. She was someone whose heart was being stabbed at from a hundred different directions with thorns as sharp as glass shards. It was in her pain that she found a new name, and she swore that no one, least of all the Titans, would ever forget it.

* * *

Beastboy and Terra were cuddled close on the couch, engaged in a very intense video game when Starfire walked in. Neither teen noticed the Tamaranian girl's presence until she gently cleared her throat for their attention. There was a soft grunt of acknowledgement from both of them.

Starfire asked, "Friends Terra and Beastboy, have either of you done the seeing of friend Raven?" She didnt wait for a response before adding, "She has missed our mall of shopping trip for the past three weeks." The normally chipper girl's voice was soft, worried, even. No matter what, ever since the body-switching encounter, Raven had made an effort to go to the mall with her at least once a week. She had missed three.

"Haven't seen her," the pair on the couch said in unison, still not turning around to glance on the red-haired girl.

"That is the 'fine'. I shall simply have to look harder," Starfire replied, her shoulders drooping in disappointment. Before she could leave the room, the alarm went off, and both Cyborg and Robin appeared in the common area.

"Titans, we need to get a move on. We don't have much time, there's a new villain terrorizing the city," their leader informed them, gesturing for them to follow him to the garage. Once there, they piled in the car, Robin on his R-cycle beside them as they headed out. Cyborg patched his voice over on the intercom so they could still hear him as they drove.

"Be prepared for anything, Titans. This girl doesn't seem like the type to mess with. Her powers are strong, pretty much unequivocal. She appears to just be wreaking havoc at random," he explained. From where they were, they could see bright flashes of blood red light, and were almost able to make out a thin figure hovering in the air amidst the destruction.

The team made it to where the villainess waited, lounging on a chair of her red magic hanging in the air. Her hair and cloak were a deep, midnight black, her eyes a terrible, soul-eating darkness. Her skin was lighter than the white of the moon, and her plump lips were pulled into a terrible grin.

"This probably won't be easy," Terra mumbled to herself, sighing softly. She had plans, things she needed to do and _soon_. She didn't have much time for fighting crime. It was supposed to be slowing down.

"Oh, Robin, you used to be so much better. I thought that you used to pride yourself on getting to a crime fast. You're getting slow," the woman told him lazily, yawning with boredom. "I mean seriously, I've already painted my nails. Twice," she said, holding out both hands to show them off. "What do you think? Dark hue-mor?" She wiggled the fingers of her left hand. "Or black heart?" She wiggled the fingers on her left.

"Are they not the same shade of black?" Starfire wondered, temporarily distracted as she began peering closely at the girl's hands.

Robin glanced at his girlfriend. "Starfire, focus," he said. "Who are you?" he questioned, turning his attention to the woman lounging before them.

"Oh, Robin, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt," she told him, placing her hand over her heart in mock offense. "No worries. When I'm done here, I'm sure you won't be able to forget me," assured the raven-haired girl, punctuating the statement with a giggle.

"Are you going to toy with us all day, or were you actually interested in getting your butt handed to you?" Cyborg asked her.

"Oh, are you finally warmed up and ready?"

The throne disappeared in a flash, leaving her standing, or floating, really, there in her skintight suit and billowing black cape, her hand on her hip as if this was a casual conversation. Grinning, she held her hand out palm up and curled her fingers inward twice. An invitation.

 _Enough of this,_ Robin thought. "Titans, GO!" he commanded. They raced forward, Starfire and Terra taking to the skies. With a calm flick of her wrist, swift red tendrils of magic wrapped around the Titans and stopped them in their tracks.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me that's all you have. I expected this to be more... well, fun," she said, frowning in disappointment.

"I'll show you fun," Beastboy growled lowly. He morphed himself into a fly a dashed behind her, switching into a pterodactyl to attack. A red sphere of magic closed around him, and the girl didn't even bat an eye. During the distraction, Terra had managed to swing a few rocks in the direction of the woman, who dispatched them easily. The tendril attached to the girl swung, slamming her into a wall with enough force to crack the stones.

" _You_ need to learn how to keep yourself out of the way," the woman snarled, her teeth clenching in the first sense of actual anger they had witnessed. The darkness around her seemed to grow, and her hand reached out, miming strangling someone. Her magic mimicked the action, closing tightly around the girl's throat. "You are nothing but a _nuisance_ , and I will have your head _mounted on a stick._ " Her hand was tightening further, the blond girl clawing at the magic that was choking the life from her, when a green starbolt flew towards the villainess. She dodged it easily, but her hold on Terra slackened enough that the girl was released and hit the ground with a thud.

"Please refrain from harming my friends," Starfire demanded politely, hands and eyes glowing as the other woman looked at her.

"But of course not," the woman replied, slipping immediately back into her pleasant persona. She crushed her hand into a fist and a swarm of tendrils encased the Tamaranian like a mummy, leaving only her ears and nose uncovered. "I was expecting so much more from you guys. You took down the brotherhood, after all," she murmured softly. Her voice was like velvet, warm and smooth like honey. It seeped into their brains and clouded their thoughts, making everything hazy. "Next time, be more prepared. Now, _sleep,"_ she lulled, and each of the five titans fell into slumber.

She flew herself higher in the sky, gaining a better view of the city. She held her arm straight, palm out, a blazing red beam of magic shooting out. She used it to carve something into the ground, subconsciously avoiding the roaming pedestrians. When she had completed her work, the name _Thorne_ was spelled in neat, sloping cursive across the city.

"You won't forget me, Jump City," she murmured. With that, she vanished in a smoky haze of red magic.

All over the world she went, seeking a challenge. Someone up to her standards, but none of the Titans seemed to match up. Not Bumblebee, who was taken down by a swift, roundhouse kick to the face, or Kid Flash, who she cursed to keep running continuously around the world until her nail polish dried. Hotspot had no chance once she found a way to _cool_ him down, and even the Titans West had gone home with some bruises. She was bored out of her mind, honestly, and bored was never a very good thing for a villainess, least of all her.

She wanted _fun._ It seemed that the only place she could even find a little enjoyment was the Titans West, but only if she decided on toying with them instead of actually fighting. With a heavy sigh, she flicked her wrist, sending herself up in a dense cloud of smoke.

* * *

"Cyborg, get me whatever headlines and background information on this girl that you can. Who is she? What does she want? Find out. _Now,_ " the Boy Wonder snapped, clenching and unclenching his fists as he supported his girlfriend on the way into the common area.

"Dude, did she even give a name?" Beastboy whined. "How are we supposed to find her?"

Cyborg clicked a few buttons, and a bird's-eye view of the city came up on the large screen. "A name won't be a problem," he said slowly, pointing at it. There, scrawled in a looping, deep crevice across the ground was the name _Thorne._

"Thorne?" Robin asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

"And that's not all I'm getting," Cyborg added. Another few buttons were hit, and a new screen appeared, this one a hit of requests for help from every other Titan, all describing a woman in black.

" _Damnit,_ " growled Robin, slamming his fist against the table. "Where the hell is Raven? Why isn't she helping?"

He slid over to the computer by Cyborg, typing furiously until a signal came up. Her communicator. The screen pinged, and a location came up.

"Her room? But that doesn't make any sense," he grumbled, heading off to her room with the rest of the Titans trailing worriedly behind him. Once there, he knocked at least five times, waiting for her to answer. Finally, he punched in the security override code for her bedroom door and it slid open, revealing the place in shambles. Nothing had been left intact. Her bed was split in half, her curtains shredded. Priceless artifacts and precious books littered the floor in broken pieces, along with ripped clothes.

Starfire stepped uncertainly into the room, her wide green eyes glancing around in worry. "Friend Raven..?" she called, distress etched in her every movement. Without speaking, she walked to where a pile of broken glass lay, mournfully sinking into a sitting position beside it. She took the shards into her hands, tears slipping down her orange skin. "What has happened to our friend?" she asked, turning to look at her boyfriend as if he had the answers.

He simply shook his head, backing away from the door slowly. He couldn't concentrate. When had this happened? _How_ _?_ He didn't understand.

And, as it seemed, he wouldn't have the time to figure out, for the lights chose that moment to flicker on and off, and the intercom crackled to life.

"Oh, Boy Blunder, didn't anyone tell you that it's impolite to snoop into other people's lives?" a sickly sweet voice asked.

Robin hissed in frustration. "Thorne."

"Give the boy a prize! He knows my name!" she crowed, cackling madly. "But can any of you find me?" There was a flash and all the lights came back on, revealing Thorne lounging on the broken bits of Raven's bed. " _Ugh,_ purple is _so_ last season, _"_ she commented, poking at Raven's bedspread disdainfully. "And honestly, _who_ still wears leotards? Childish, honestly," she added, this time from behind them, picking in Raven's closet. There were at least three apparitions of Thorne in the room, with no way to know the real one.

"You are _not_ welcome here," Starfire said firmly, eyes glowing in anger as she glanced between the three.

"Tch, you don't even know which one is me. How sad," the three said in unison. "I'm sure Raven would have been able to tell you, but she's not here, is she?" They mocked, all grinning wickedly.

 _"What do you know about Raven?"_ Robin growled, hurling a bird-a-rang at all three. Only one ducked. The other two disappeared.

"Oops. Found me. Catch me and I might just tell you where she is," Thorne said with a shrug. She took a step back, straight through the wall and into the hallway. When the Titans got out there, she was already zipping around the corner, only the swish of her cape visible.

" _Catch her_ ," Robin ordered, and they took off after her. She seemed to be dancing around them in circles, her bell-like laughter echoing off the walls of the tower. She seemed to be everywhere at once, confusing them with shadows and tricks of the light. She was attacking them and leaving bruises and scars without them ever seeming to catch sight of her, and they were growing frustrated.

Finally, Beastboy cornered her in a dead-end hallway, crouched in lion form. He growled at her as she leaned casually against the wall, watching him with curious eyes. He lunged, and she was suddenly on the opposite side of the hall. She arched an eyebrow and he changed, shifting back into a human. Something about the action tickled at the back of his brain, but he was moving before he could think to hard about it, drifting towards her because of an invisible force. She hooked a finger under his chin and pulled him close, grinning. "You're cute. I wouldn't want to mess up your face," she murmured. She dipped her face in close, as if to kiss him, and blew a soft breath, the aroma immediately sending him off to sleep.

She tapped her throat and her voice amplified, spreading throughout the tower with ease.

"See you later, Titans," she told them.

She eased the green-colored boy to the floor and flicked her wrist, vanishing from the tower.

* * *

 **So what did you guys think? Good? Not good? I really love your input, whether you sing me your praises or curse me with hatred, I don't care. I love it all because it makes me a stronger writer. It makes me know what you guys want to see, what you like and don't like.**

 **So, if you can, shoot me some reviews! I love you even if you don't, and I'd love if you kept up with my story!**

 **I love you guys, you're all super wonderful. Keep being great and I hope you have a wonderful week.  
~LBB**


	3. Chapter 3

**As you may have noticed, I am making a few changes to this story along the way. Crow doesn't exist yet, not in this astral plane, anyways, and Raven/Thorne is less. . . dramatic. She's not as showy as she was before. She's still a performer, a supervillain in her ways of presentation, but not the same as my original story.**

 **I realized that I keep forgetting to do this, so;**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but this idea. Not the show, not the comics, not the characters. I own the name "Thorne" and a very comfortable writing spot. That's how this story got here, after all.**

 **Anywhosen, ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

It was about four hours before Beastboy woke up, confused and unsure of his location. After a moment, he realized that he was in the infirmary, his body connected to many machines by multiple needles.

He sat up, and the needles tugged at his skin. Growling impatiently, he began pulling needles from his arms, causing monitors to start beeping like mad. Cyborg appeared in the doorway only moments later, looking worried and disgruntled.

"You're awake," he commented, grabbing a clipboard and glancing over it. Beastboy simply nodded. "You've been out for a while, man. Almost four hours. You okay?"

Beastboy nodded. "Yeah. I don't really remember much- she was. . . _toying_ with me, I think," he told his metal friend. After a short pause, he added, "She didn't attack, not once."

"I take exception to that. She certainly kicked our asses," Robin said lowly, pressing an ice pack to his sternum. Beastboy hadn't noticed before, but _all_ of the Titans were in the med wing, wrapped or bruised in some way. Seems like Thorne had done a number on all of them but Beastboy. Color Robin curious. "What else happened? She didn't seem to hurt you in any way at all," he added, eye twitching only slightly.

Beastboy's eyebrow creased and he frowned, trying to remember something. "She said. . . that I was cute, maybe? I dunno. I couldn't move an inch and she leaned in then blew in my face," he explained, obviously bothered by something. Something about her, something, was dancing on the edge of his memory. There was something about the way her breath smelled. About the way _she_ smelled in general. He knew it from somewhere, but he had been out too long to remember the exact scent. Only that it was painfully familiar.

Robin "humph"ed thoughtfully, tapping a finger to his chin. "Perhaps we've found her weakness," he murmured, glancing at Beastboy. "How would you feel about being live bait?"

* * *

Thorne yawned and knocked twice on a door that appeared to be oak (it was actually three-inch titanium with an oak wood covering- villains could be so paranoid) before twitching her fingers impatiently, smiling in grim satisfaction as it swung open easily.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the villainess called, humming softly to herself and strolling into the living space. She heard a soft thumping from around the corner and a mumbled cry of "fuck", and then Red-X was standing before her, looking annoyed even with the mask on. "Hmm. You know, you aren't who I was looking for. Villain convention I didn't know about?" she asked, breezing past him, further into the flat.

"Hey," he replied, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her to face him. "What are you doing here? How did you get in? Who are you?"

She snorted. "Too many questions, all of which are none of your damn business. Goodbye," she responded. She flicked her wrist and he slid backwards out of the door, and it slammed shut behind him. "Now then," she muttered, floating throughout the residence. "Slade!" she called, growing irritated by his lack of appearance. Finally she found him, pouring two glasses of thick red wine and holding one out to her.

"Wine?" he offered, arching an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes.

"You kept me waiting to pour _wine_?" she drawled, shaking her head in aggravation. "Ridiculous. And to think I was considering accepting your offer of a partnership."

Red-X appeared then, quite literally out of no where, stepping in between the two and snatching Thorne's wine glass. "Partnership? Offer? Ridiculous? I want in," he said. He lifted the glass to his face, only to realize that he was still wearing the mask. He growled in frustration and shoved the glass into Thorne's waiting hand, flopping into the armchair behind her.

"You're quite the pest, aren't you?" she murmured dryly, cutting her eyes at him.

"Whatever. It isn't like you were invited, either," he grumbled, crossing his arms childishly.

" _Anyways,_ " Thorne replied, glancing back at Slade. "I think I might just take you up on your offer. But only if you let me stretch my wings a bit."

Slade coughed slightly. "Exactly what do you mean, stretch your wings?" he asked slowly.

"Fully use my powers, of course."

It was an excellent thing that both men in the room were excellent with poker faces.

"Right," Slade said. "Let's start planning this take down." With nothing else to say to that, the trio began.

* * *

All of the Titans had gathered on the West Coast, and all of them had a problem. They couldn't seem to stop Thorne in their areas by themselves, but there was no one who could help, because all of them were busy. Robin ended up calling all of them in, figuring that if there was no one for her to fight in these areas, she would stop terrorizing them. It was only partially true. The girl moved extremely fast, after all. It was only a few hours later and she had already converted everyone away from their governments and into the belief of Thorne. None of the Titans understood why. It was almost like she had this. . . need for love. Admiration. She wanted everybody's attention.

Thorne had gotten under all of their skin, but mostly Robin's. She was like a brand new Slade to him, another Red-X. It was driving him mad. Not to mention his damn-near constant headache, which was making him crankier than usual. Every time he thought of Raven, every time he tried to find her through their mental bond, there was a sharp pain in his skull. Where he could usually feel Raven's consciousness there was nothing but a burning, searing pain. It worried him just as much as it angered him. Thorne knew _something_ about Raven's disappearance. And he was going to find out.

While Robin did his pondering, the Titans' resident changeling and geomancer were having a few problems of their own. It seemed that, in lieu Raven's disappearance, their relationship had taken a turn for the absolute worst. It seemed that Terra had found an issue with the picture of a certain violet-haired sorceress on her boyfriend's dresser.

"I just don't understand it, Beastboy. You're dating _me,_ " she snapped, storming away from him.

"Honestly, Terra, there is a good expl-"

"I don't _want_ your explanations, Beastboy. When I got my memory back, I came back to _you,_ " she interrupted sharply.

He tried again, "I understand that, Terra. But it's-"

"I swear, I do not want to hear that it isn't what it looks like," she hissed, whirling on him to glare him down. Except, her glares didn't hold an eighth of the weight of one of Raven's, and he brushed it off easily.

"You aren't even _listening_ to me! Terra I just-"

"I also don't want you to tell me that your just forgot, because I wouldn't believe that even for a second. Do you understand me? I am _no-_ "

" ** _Shut up!_** " Beastboy roared, his eyes brightening to the point where they were like green flames. "You just keep talking, but are you even _hearing_ me? Are you hearing _yourself_? You sound _ridiculous_! I haven't said _any_ of that. Now shut up and carefully listen to the words coming out of my mouth," he growled.

Terra opened her mouth to say something, but made the wide decision to shut it and simply nod. This was the sharper, angrier side of Beastboy, a side she had never seen. In all honestly, it terrified her.

Beastboy sighed, trying to regain his composure. "There is a reason I have a picture of Raven on my dresser. You are going to listen, and you are not going to interrupt me. Understand?" he asked slowly. She nodded again, meekly. "You will realize that I haven't kissed you since our first. It is because that kiss was _wrong._ A short while after Raven disappeared, I realized-" This time, it was the loud crackle of the intercom that cut him off.

"Titans, get to the common room. We may have finally found her," Robin's voice informed them, cutting off without another word.

* * *

 **I'm so sorry that this is total crap. I realized that when I first wrote this story, it was just a filler. I have no idea of how to change that, honestly. I tried to make it long and detailed for you guys, but like it said, it is just a filler. There isn't a particularly good way to connect this to the next one in one chapter.**

 **I love you guys, thank you for dealing with my nonsense.  
~LBB**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ugh**_ **. Okay, so to start this off, I would like to apologize for my unexpected extended absence. I was- _am_ \- grounded from my laptop, and therefore was not able to access my writings. Because I am still technically grounded, I have moved my writing so I can view them via phone as well, but writing is a lot more difficult that way. I am doing my best to still write and post chapters of my stories, though. **

**Full Disclosure: I _still_ do not own anything, sadly.**

 **Anywhosen, ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Within a minute, all of the Titans were gathered in the common room, anxious to see exactly where Thorne was and what she was up to. The monitors showed that she ad been all over the planet, alerting people to her presence and causing mass panic. Rain in the desert, endless snow in the Bahamas. She had done something to the people of every nation. Not only had she frightened them beyond belief, but it seemed she had hexed them as well. Under the panic was a thick coat of volatile anger, causing more trouble than was really needed.

"She seems to be somewhere in South America- in the wilder jungles of the amazon. But her trail has been too easy; it took us almost no time at all," their leader explained, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck thoughtfully.

"So what you're saying is that this is probably a trap," Bumblebee summed up, her wings twitching impatiently.

"Yes. There is about a ninety six percent chance that this is a trap," he admitted. "But there honestly isn't a way to get around this. The more time we spend thinking, the stronger she'll get. This isn't a villain we can wait out; she's too unpredictable."

"What do you mean? What has she done other than cause mass chaos?" Beastboy asked, perching carefully on the edge of the counter.

"People believe that she's some divine deity come down to change the world. There are people all across the globe that have started worshiping her. There's an entire country in Egypt that has begun building a statue in her likeness. Not sure if it's another hex or if it's just the crazies come out to shine," Cyborg explained, glancing mournfully at the statistics on the screen.

"Is it wrong to say that she is _totally_ my new evil idol?" Jinx muttered, to which her boyfriend let out a chuckle. One look from the boy wonder stopped them both in their tracks.

"We need to end her. Soon. This mission is mandatory for all Titans and will commence in one hour. Take the time to do any preparations you need to. Dismissed," he instructed, turning without another word and leaving the room.

* * *

A bit more tan an hour later, Thorne sat on a large chair fashioned to look like a throne, lazily moving one of her knights to capture Slade's pawn. The radar beeped in the background, alerting them to the ever growing proximity of the Titans.

"I'm bored," she complained, flicking her wrist to slap Red-X's hand away as he tried to make a move for her. "Can't we go out to meet them?" she asked hopefully.

Slade resisted rolling his eyes. He replied, "Thorne, dear, you know the plan. It won't work as well if we're out there."

"It would still work," she grumbled,

"How is it that you chose her over me again? _Why_?" Red-X complained, twirling an X in his hand anxiously.

Slade shrugged and said, "Simple. You're an amateur."

Crossing his arms like a petulant child, Red-X responded, "Am not."

"Point proven."

Suddenly, Thorne cried out, "They're here!" She clapped her hands in excitement and the room dimmed so there were two spotlights, one on her and one on Slade.

"I want a spotlight, too!" complained Red-X. Thorne shot him a scathing glare, and he quieted down immediately.

No more than a second passed before the door was blasted in and the Titans stood, Cyborg's sonic cannon still glowing and humming with energy.

Before Thorne could utter even a single word, Robin's voice demanded, "Tell us where Raven is." The rest of the team seemed to wait with baited breath for a reply, and Starfire's hands subconsciously tightened around the strap of the bag that hung on her shoulder, which she hadn't put down since their visit to Raven's room. It held the broken bits of Ravne's mirror, the closest thing to Raven Starfire had.

"Tch, Robin. Are you so blinded by love for your teammate that you didn't even take the time to appreciate your surroundings? Did you pay _no_ attention at all while I was teaching you?" Slade chastised, shaking his head sharply. "I'm disappointed."

Now, it wasn't that Robin hadn't noticed Slade. Batman's apprentice, leader of the Titans, Slade's apprentice. . . these titles had made him excellent at observation. So while, yes, he had noticed Slade, he hadn't taken the time to consider what his presence meant. His eyes flickered between the pair, suddenly concerned. "Don't tell me that you're his newest apprentice," Robin snarled, his gaze landing once again on Thorne.

Thorne gaze a single, humorless laugh at that, her eyes glinting darkly. "That, dearest Robin, would imply that I am below you, or Slade for that matter, in some way. I'm not. We're partners."

The slightest ripple of surprise, and possibly aggravation, darted across the male's facial expression, but it cleared just as swiftly. "Partner?" he asked, his voice slow and calculated. To anyone who knew the boy well, they knew that particular voice meant he was not at all happy with the situation at hand, but attempting to remain calm.

"It's a tentative trial run," Slade said. It appeared that he was just as unexcited by the arrangement as he former apprentice was.

" _Anyways,_ " Thorne interjected, her eyes glinting in obvious irritation. "I have an organization to eradicate, so, if the two of you ladies are finished speaking, I'd like to continue on without further ado." She flicked her wrists upwards sharply, and the lights came up, revealing a terribly white room, floors and walls alike. It was completely spotless, so one couldn't tell just how close they were to a wall until they'd run into it. The ceiling was also hidden by a blinding white light, making it impossible to look up and see how high it was.

Thorne tapped her throat, and her voice became amplified, echoing off the white walls and bouncing back in an eerie manner. "Welcome, Titans, my esteemed guests, to my world of fun. There are a few rules and warnings if you intend to survive my funhouse, which, with any luck, none of you will. Do not stand on a tile for more than three seconds, do not fly higher twenty yards, do not stay still for too long, do not make loud noises, do not get on my nerves or in my way, and for the love of everything, do not say 'Titans Go'. I'll probably vomit on my pretty white floors," she explained sharply, smiling through the entire speech. She stepped down from her little stage and began walking towards the Titans at a relaxed pace.

Robin tightened his grip on his bo staff as Beastboy, finally putting the plan into action, stepped forward from the ranks. "It doesn't have to be this way. Give us Raven. We can convert you, help you be better. We've done it for others," he offered.

"There _is_ no better for me. There is no good side to me. I have _destroyed_ your precious Raven," she spat, her eyes flickering uneasily at her last statement. Before Beastboy could process this, she was continuing her spiel." _I. Am. Darkness!_ " shrieked the woman, her right hand flinging outwards angrily. Beastboy yelped slightly as a sphere of her energy completely encased him, suspending him fifty feet in the air so he was no longer in her way.

"Titans, attack!" Robin called, to with Thorne rolled her eyes and muttered something about stupid loopholes and flicked her wrist. The room seemed to buzz with electricity. As Starfire and Argent descended upon the sorceress, much of the team was attempting not to die. Kole, who had been standing completely still in shock, was alarmed as an invisible laser fired at her. She crystallized immediately, and the laser deflected towards the platform Thorne had previously been on.

The battle raged on, with lasers and disappearing tiles dispatching those who broke Thorne's "rules" while Thorne and Slade and, occasionally, Red-X, went head to head with the furious and mourning Titans. Beastboy, furiously attempting to remove himself from the sphere, was mostly watching the fight. Mostly watching Torne, to be exact. He need to find a small weakness, something to help them win. It wasn't until he was watching her against Robin, watching the way she seemed to know what he was going to do before he did it, that things began to click.

The way she knew her way around the tower, the way she smelled like weathered pages and lilac. The slender form of her fingers, and even the way she had morphed him back into a human.

His banging became even more frantic, his fists slamming and bashing the black energy. Before he knew it, he had become the Beast, his giant paws finally managing to shatter the sphere. If he was going to make this work, he had to move fast.

"Starfire! The bag!" he howled as he shifted into his human form. She gave him a look of confusion as she shot starbolts, but let the bag fall from her shoulder, dropping into his waiting hands. He clamored up onto the stage, the only space that seemed safe from disappearing tiles, and emptied the bag's contents. He started hastily shoving the shards of glass back into their placements, thankful that he was wearing thick gloves as his hands where safe from the jagged edges. Within a minute he had assembled the mirror, and he brandished in for the villainess and everyone else to see.

"Thorne! I know your secret!" he cried. He put the mirror down and allowed the black hands to yank him inside, ignoring Thorne's curses of protest as she flew in after him. Unbeknownst to the pair in the mirror or any most of the Titans, mainly due to the lights shutting off within seconds, two more bodies dove into the mirror before the glass began falling apart once more.

* * *

 **Hi! So, I know that this level is awkward and choppy, especially the ending, but I promise that there's a method to my madness, and that I'll be updating more frequently (hopefully).**

 **To those who've previously read the fic, you'll see that I'm changing things up a bit. A bit more sophisticated, a bit less juvenile, hopefully. Also, I've got to keep you on your toes.**

 **Thanks for sticking with me and taking all of my bullshit in stride, guys.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I fUCKING HATE MY LIFE, but hi, how are you guys? So many people favorited this story last week, so thank you so much. Few reviews though, so if it's not too much trouble, can I get some of those? Thanks even if you don't!**

 **Also, I've changed this ish up a lot, so be prepared :).**

 **Anywhosen, ON WITH THE STORY.**

* * *

As Thorne and Beastboy tumbled their way down into Nevermore, the sorceress realized what a terrible mistake she had made. They were never supposed to figure it out. Why would they have even brought the blasted mirror with them? It didn't make sense to her. The pair hit the ground, and Beastboy was already rolling to his feet, looking around frantically.

Nevermore was in ruins. The sky was the color of a week-old bruise, a mixture of mottled blues, greens, and blacks. The stone path was nothing but rubble, and Beastboy counted himself lucky that he had actually managed to land on a rock. The only thing that appeared to be intact were the arches, and even those were floating, untethered by anything at all.

"How _dare_ you touch this mirror! How dare you bring us here!" Thorne screeched, pushing herself to her feet and glowering at Beastboy.

Beastboy glared right back. "Change. Back," he growled lowly, his eyes darkening with anger.

Stunned, Thorne blinked and asked, "Back into what?"

" _Raven_ ," he hissed. "Change back into _Raven_."

The villainess released a vicious, harsh laugh that was without humor. "She doesn't _exist_. I destroyed her when I broke free of my bonds," she replied, her hands beginning to glow with magic. "Your dearest Raven is _gone_ , much like you soon will be."

She swung her hand and one of the miscellaneous rocks moved, slamming into the boulder Beastboy stood on. It shattered and he morphed into an eagle to avoid plummeting to his death. She dove at Thorne, changing against into a pterodactyl. She vanished, appearing on a rock a bit farther away. He was just about to dive at her again when he heard a noise and immediately changed course, heading for one of the floating arches.

"Get back here!" Thorne snapped, leaping from rock to rock in an attempt to catch him. She kept trying to capture him in a magic sphere, but his evasive skills were impressive. Much to her dismay, they were soon hurtling through the portal and into the odd meadow like area Beastboy had visited once before. He had morphed again, this time turning into a cheetah running at top speed across the blackened fields and dead remains of whatever had once been alive.

"You can't escape! Where are you going?" she roared, still flying after him angrily. But it was as if he didn't hear her and he launched himself forward, straying from the path and darting into a corner he had only seen something in once before. And, as he had expected, there was an ornate golden birdcage hanging from a tree with a shimmering field of energy around it. Surrounding the birdcage were women in cloaks, all in varying shades of gray, and they were keeping up the bubble of magic. Inside the birdcage was a woman of the exact same build as the rest, but curled into a small ball and wearing a royal blue cloak.

With a sigh of relief, Beastboy said, "Raven."

The head of each woman whipped towards him, glaring with coal black eyes. He had almost forgotten that all of their names would be Raven.

"Don't respond to that name! You are Thorne! I am _Thorne_!" the villainess cried as she finally caught up with Beastboy. He had nearly forgotten she was pursuing him. The screaming caught the attention of the sorceress in the cage, who reached out to grip the bars of her prison, a bit of hope glimmering in her violet eyes.

"Beastboy," she whispered, his name coming out like a prayer.

" _No_ _!_ " Thorne bellowed, throwing a ball of red magic that slammed into the cage. "Get back! I forced you into submission once; I can do it again!" As if to prove her point, she shaped her hand into a claw, as if she was choking someone.

Raven laughed bitterly. "It's not working," she spat.

"Isn't it?" she replied, a savagely smug smile warping her features. She jerked her chin to the left to direct Raven's attention, and there was Beastboy, his face darkening as he went longer and longer without air. "Submit, and the animal can live," she bargained. Raven, seemingly defeated, hunched her shoulders and scooted back from the bars of her cage. Satisfied with this, Thorne relaxed her hand, and the magical correlation stopped depriving him of air.

As Beastboy fought to pull oxygen back into his lungs, he felt the ground beginning to shake. Confused, he looked up at Thorne, but she appeared just as alarmed as he did. He glanced at the cage, where Raven was now standing. "Get out of my body," she said softly.

Thorne's face twisted into a sneer. "What was that?" she asked haughtily.

" ** _Get out of my body!_** " Raven thundered, throwing her arms out to the sides. The birdcage exploded, sending the women surrounding it to the ground and bits of golden bars flying in all directions. Her eyes were glowing with magic, and she felt more like herself than she had in ages. "This is my body. This is my mind. _Leave_ ," she demanded, propelling her arm forward harshly. Thorne's body jerked to the side as if she had been run over by an invisible steamroller, and she slammed into the ground.

Beastboy got up, already moving towards Raven. "I can't believe you're alive," he said, reaching towards her. Raven's face was set into a mask of grim determination.

"Not for long. I have no energy from setting in that cage, starving, for I don't even know how long. Get my emotions to gather and give me their power," she instructed.

"But where do I find them?" he asked.

"The women guarding the cage- that was them. You have to wake them up, so to speak. Break the trance. I don't know how, though," she told him, shaking her arms out as Thorne started to move. "I have to deal with _her._ "

Beastboy nodded, dashing over to where her emotions had fallen, trying to figure out how to rouse them from their trance. He noticed that their cloaks were not actually gray, but an ashen shade of the colors they had been previously. Pink and yellow and green, only muted. But before he could even attempt to wake them, his instincts were causing him to roll off to the side, narrowly dodging the swing of a Bo staff.

"Slade," he growled.

"Well, it's certainly not the milk man," the villain drawled, lifting his staff.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, I had been trying to figure out why a measly mirror was so important, but now I know. This is where she's been keeping Raven trapped, and she didn't want you to free her," Slade replied. "I say it's best if neither of you leave."

With that, he swung his staff again and again, with Beastboy constantly evading him, never going on the offense. He tripped when he ran into one of the women, some had woken up by now, but apparently not all of them. He dodged one of Slade's attacks, but that put the fallen emotion directly in his warpath.

"No!" a female voice cried. And then there was a body there, stopping the staff. She was wearing a green cloak and heavy green boots, her hands wrapped around the staff as she protected the gray cloaked emotion. After a moment, Beastboy understood. It was Bravery, shielding Timid the way she did everyday. "Back off," she hissed, her leg coming up in a roundhouse kick and smashing into the side of Slade's head.

As the villain recovered, Bravery turned toward Beastboy. "I have to go help Raven. Remind us who we are and what we stand for to wake us up." And with that, she was off, heading to help Raven with Thorne.

* * *

 **Saying that was a Stark difference from the original would be the understatement of the century, though I do hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry this took me so long, but my entire life is a total mess.**

 **I love you always,**

 **~LBB**


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